Peacock eel

This is a discussion on Peacock eel within the Ancient Fish forums, part of the Freshwater and Tropical Fish category; -->
I am buying a tank that comes with some fish which includes a peacock eel and i was wondering what i should know about ...

I am buying a tank that comes with some fish which includes a peacock eel and i was wondering what i should know about these guys like how big do they get how aggressive are they what size tank should they be housed in what do they eat and would they like caves to hid in cause this one likes to hide in the gravel so i though putting some rockwork in would draw him out cause he would have somewhere to hide out in the open

I would say that you should definitely get some sort of cave or PVC pipe for the eel to hide in. I've seen these eels in empty-looking LFS tanks try to bury themselves in the gravel which can't be healthy.

I've never kept one so I can only tell you what I've read about them: A peacock eel will grow to about 10" and needs at least a 20g tank with a good lid, as they will try to escape. They won't eat flake food but will do well on live foods like live black worms. They'll also eat frozen bloodworms and brine shrimp. A peacock eel might also eat your smaller fish like neon tetras. I don't think they're aggressive towards other fish, but they'll eat any fish small enough to fit in their mouths. I've read that if you lean a long piece of slate against your front glass and don't add any other decor to the tank for a while, the eel will claim this as his cave. You can then add in the other decor, and the eel will stay in that front-and-center cave so that you can see him even when he's hiding.

thanks and i was hoping that he would be able to grow up in the 30gal tank that he is currently in cause he is just cool looking i just have to figure out what i want to put in the tank with him because i am thinking of trading his current tank mates in at my LFS